A New Dawn
by Tsuki Kakumei
Summary: For years they've been living through a never ending nightmare. It was time one of them woke up and crossed over to a world of sweet dreams. Claire/Leon, implied Jill/Chris


**Disclaimer: Capcom owns Resident Evil, but if I had my way Claire would be paired with Leon instead of always partnering him with random newcomers.**

A/N: I had a dream of these two doing the deed and couldn't stop thinking about it so just a fore warning there is going to be **smut**. If you are uncomfortable with sexual situations then by all means press the back button. Also, it's my first time writing a lemon so _please_ leave a comment on whether you liked it or not and I'll do my best to improve upon it. Almost forgot to mention that I depicted their first meeting from Darkside Chronicles, not RE2 since I loved that scene more. Last warning, there is **smut**.

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The sharp tapping of angry raindrops splattering against the window and the distant boom of thunder kept one, Claire Redfield company as she stared up at the unfamiliar yet recognizable ceiling. It was 2:48 in the morning, a time when most people should be sleeping, but not her. No matter how much she wanted to close her eyes and drift off into a sea of darkness, her mind wouldn't allow her that kind of luxury even after the vigorous activity that had transpired hours before.

Rolling onto her side she gazed at the man she was currently sharing a bed with. Even though the bedroom was nearly pitch black, Claire could still make out his silhouette with perfect clarity. He laid sprawled out across the bed on his back, left arm up by his head while his right arm rested on his chest as his head faced slightly in her direction. His infamous light chestnut brown fringe - or as Chris liked to dub it "The Hairy Eye Patch" - messily flopped across his face. The soft even breaths of her night time companion made her envious. How could he sleep so easily when it was getting damn near impossible for her? Scoffing jealously under her breath, Claire flipped back onto her back and stared at the slowly rotating ceiling fan.

_How did this happen?_ Her eyes glazed over as the night's events slowly came back to her bewildered mind.

For once it was Leon who initiated contact between them. TerraSave was holding a conference in Washington D.C and once that had finished there was no pressing need for Claire to rush back to head quarters right away so instead she decided to stay for an extra few days to take in the sights. It wasn't like it was the first time she had ever gone to Washington, but she never had the chance to really take the time to unwind in one place before. There was always another place she had to be at, another conference to attend, another victim to console, or another outbreak to contain. Her phone rang while she was on her way to the botanical gardens and 'lo and behold who could've been on the other line, but none other than Leon S. Kennedy!

It was rare for the government agent to have a day to spare and it was even rarer that it coincided with each other's hectic schedules. So without further ado they immediately made plans for dinner opting to have it at his place instead of driving in the torrential downpour to a fancy restaurant where two bites equates to a full meal. By the time Leon opened his door to a slightly damp Claire holding a bottle of red wine, she couldn't contain herself any longer and threw her arms around him in an enthusiastic hug. His embrace was something she had missed after not seeing him for months at a time. Parting from the hug, Leon quickly ushered her in towards the black leather couch where a simple spread of Chinese take out containers lined the small coffee table awaiting to be devoured.

Most of dinner consisted of them catching up with their day to day lives, more so Claire than Leon. Claire leaned back against the couch feeling well fed and quite content. It wasn't often that she felt like this. To be comfortable enough to unburden herself to someone she believed herself closest to besides her brother, and judging by Leon's relaxed posture he felt the same as her.

"How's Chris doing?"

"He's the same I suppose. Well… maybe not. It's… it's like he's trapped in limbo. He still can't come to grips with Jill's death even though everyone's telling him to move on, but it's almost like he just doesn't want to." Somehow the topic of conversation steered into a direction that she was less than enthusiastic to talk about. "But recently there's been a change in him. He said that there's a possible lead of Jill being alive."

"What?" Leon's blue-gray eyes widened at the news, "It'd be great if that were true, but she dove off more than a hundred foot drop and there wasn't-"

"Even a body found; exactly. No matter how thorough the BSAA searched the Cliffside her body and Wesker's were never found. It's a long shot, Leon, but for the first time since her funeral this lead has given Chris the drive to pull himself out of the pit of misery he's been forced into." She raised her glass and drained the amber liquid in one swallow. They polished off the red wine sometime ago and wanting something stronger, Leon cracked open his half full bottle of scotch filling a glass for each of them. The clinking of ice rattled around the tumbler as Claire stared down into the empty glass situated on her lap. Leon's hand came into her line of vision as he gently pried the glass out of her suddenly cold hands and set it on the coffee table. His arm wrapped around her shoulders and without prompting, Claire easily slid into the folds of his arms with her cheek resting against his shoulder.

"I wonder…" Leon swallowed and tried to collect his thoughts. Having Claire in his arms and the warmth of her breath hitting directly on his neck made his mind a bit foggy or maybe it was the amount of alcohol he had consumed, but all he knew was that he never wanted to change this position.

"Hmm?" Claire breathed. The navy cashmere sweater Leon wore was soft against her face and she unconsciously began rubbing her cheek along his collar bone. Being this close to him the rumble of his voice went straight from him to tickle her very being. _Mmm, he's so comfortable. If I could stay like this forever then I would._

"I wonder what it's like to have a partner like that. Someone who would sacrifice themselves for you without a second thought." Leon wasn't expecting a response, but he was proven wrong when Claire spoke after a moment of thinking.

"Jill… Jill wasn't like any other partner you could find. She was special in her own kind of way. They've always had this instant connection, you know? Since their first day of working together in S.T.A.R.S. to the Spencer Mansion incident that somewhere along the way they stopped being just 'partners' and became something more that you almost couldn't think about one without the other. She sacrificed herself not just to save Chris, but also for the cause we're all still fighting for. Not anyone would have the courage to do what Jill did."

"An instant connection, huh. That kind of reminds me of us."

Lifting her head, her heart pounded slightly harder as she shifted around so that she could see Leon's face better. "What do you mean?"

Swallowing nervously, Leon continued on as he stared into curious sky blue eyes, "Well, I guess what I mean is that we're kind of like Chris and Jill. Ever since I saw you throw your combat knife into that zombie from 20 paces like a pro, I knew you'd always have my back and I'd have yours." Leon's head steadily drew closer to hers until their foreheads were nearly touching, "We may not have been partners for every outbreak we've been in, but there's no one else I'd rather have at my side other than you, Claire. I'd gladly give my life if it meant you'd survive." And with that, Leon dipped his head to capture her supple pink lips in a tender kiss.

Her eyes slid closed out of reflex as she kissed him back, pressing herself further against him. The smooth glide of his lips on hers created a delicious sensation within her. _Oh, yum, I'm kissing Leon. I'm _kissing _Leon. I'm _kissing Leon, _who is my friend. My _friend, _who is _Leon_._ Pushing on his shoulders she broke their kiss and tried to move away, but his arms were like steel bands around her, unmoving and locked into place. He was undeterred by their broken lip lock and switched targets to lay fluttering kisses along the pale column of her neck, suckling lightly on her pulse. The snug pink t-shirt she wore steadily inched upwards as his hands caressed her sides and the small of her back. Claire rapidly blinked her eyes to clear away the lightheadedness the spell Leon's words and actions had her mesmerized with.

"Nngh, Leon, c'mon we have to stop this. We've both had too much to drink and we're not thinking straight."

"I'm not drunk, maybe a little buzzed, but definitely not drunk." He muttered into the hollow point between her collarbones.

"Even so, I'm being serious here. Leon!" Pushing more firmly against his shoulders to get her point across, Leon sighed and gave her quickening pulse one last lave before moving his head away altogether, however, he never relinquished his hold on her. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"Why not? Give me one good reason why we shouldn't."

"Because we're friends, Leon, and if you add in sex it always messes things up."

"Claire, it's not like this is the first time we've slept together in case you've forgotten and it hasn't messed up our relationship."

"Of _course_ I haven't, but the situation was different then! We were in shock and still running on adrenaline. We needed something, _anything_, to confirm that we escaped Raccoon City in one piece, that we were still alive. And all we had was each other to turn to." Claire looked away from him and focused her attention on the hand that rested on his heart instead. His heart beat a steady rhythm against her palm and the rise and fall of his chest confirmed that he was still among the living. _He's here with me still alive and breathing. Not dead and rotting, shambling after people to eat their flesh._

Leon's eyes softened, "Hey, look at me. Claire." When she still refused to raise her eyes, Leon gently grasped her chin with his thumb and forefinger and directed her gaze up. "I'm gonna be honest here, there are times that I wish I could forget about that nightmare of a city, but at the same time I don't want to because that's the moment you came into my life. Hell, I'm pretty sure that if you hadn't been there, I wouldn't be here today. And after we got out of there, I can promise that _you_ weren't just _anything_. I've _never_ regretted sleeping with you and I never will."

"But that was then. Thing's are different now. We've come a long ways from eleven years ago. I don't want to risk ruining our friendship just because we acted on impulse."

"And what if I want to be more than just friends?" Claire's breath hitched in her throat. "This isn't an impulse, Claire, and I know you think so too. I don't want to end up like Chris and Jill; only realizing what I had in front of me was special all along until it's too late." He cupped her pale cheek as she leant into his palm. "I meant what I said before; you're my partner in every sense of the word. I'd die for you in an instant."

Sky blue orbs watered as she absorbed his sweet declaration. She closed the small gap between them to press their lips together. What started off as a chaste kiss soon turned into a sensual dance of tongues tangling together. Pulling apart to catch their breaths, Claire's eyes darkened to a shade that reminded Leon of a pending storm. They were electric. Her eyes, whether they were a clear sky blue or a storm sky blue, pulled him in and shocked every nerve ending he had until it felt like he was on fire. Leon moved a stray lock of golden red hair to curl behind her ear, his fingertips swept along her temple to brush the outer shell of her ear, and traveled down south to ghost along her jaw line until his thumb lingered on her kiss swollen lips. She placed a soft kiss on the pad of his thumb then the tip of her tongue poked out to provide a quick lick before drawing the small appendage into her mouth, all the while tongue and teeth were mimicking an action that a different part of his anatomy sorely wished would receive.

Leon growled under his breath before taking his thumb out of her warm mouth and crushing his lips against hers again in an almost animalistic kiss. Gone were the thoughts of taking it slow, he needed her, been needing her for years and now that he had her right where he wanted her, he wasn't going to wait any longer. Lips, teeth, and tongue nipped, licked, and sucked as their hands wandered to divest each other of their clothing. His sweater was tossed somewhere behind him along with her shirt, bra and jeans. Creamy breasts were free for his viewing pleasure and he wasted no time in admiring their shape and size with his hands and mouth. Leon nibbled and sucked on one pink nipple until it pebbled under his tongue while his fingers gently pinched and tweaked the other.

Claire squirmed under his touch, offering a breathy gasp for every tease he made to her nipples. By the time he was satisfied with her mounds of flesh both of her pink nubs were standing at attention. Feeling nimble fingers pop open the button on his jeans, they were about to pull down the zipper when Leon hoisted her up by grasping her bouncy bottom and started carrying her to his bedroom. Surprised at the sudden movement, Claire's arms quickly wound around him and her gasp was swallowed by Leon thrusting his slippery tongue into her mouth. Toned thighs wrapped around his waist as Claire eagerly rubbed her damp panty clad core against the stiff bulge below her making Leon stumble and curse at the short distance to his room. He kicked the door open and tossed Claire onto the bed. She bounced a little and giggled, but they soon turned into moans when Leon climbed atop her and trailed wet kisses from her navel to the bottom of her panty line.

He hooked his fingers on the top of her panties and oh so slowly pulled them down her slim legs. Once her feet cleared the holes, he tossed the scrap of fabric into some forgotten corner of his room, and there on his bed laid Claire Redfield in all her glory, bare for only his eyes to witness. His blue-gray orbs devoured her body from top to bottom. From her golden red hair that was still tied up in her signature ponytail, a graceful swan-like neck – his eyes lingered on her perky breasts that were slowly showing evidence of love bites -, to a small waist that flared out into a set of curvy hips, down to her toned legs and dainty feet. His eyes stopped on the neatly trimmed patch of hair at the apex of her thighs and he smirked. Red, just as he remembered all those years ago.

He picked up one dainty foot and laid a kiss to her ankle, and left a pathway of scorching kisses up to the inside of her thigh before stopping and repeating the same treatment to her other leg, gradually spreading her legs wider and wider until he was face to face with her glistening pink slit. As he was about to taste a sample of the delectable red head, a hand appeared and covered up his treat while the other was raised in a stopping motion.

"Whoa there, stud. Aren't you forgetting something?" Leon arched his left eyebrow in confusion. Storm blue eyes twinkled as her Cupid's bow lips quirked teasingly, "I showed you mine now you show me yours."

"Heh, whatever you say." Leon grinned and swiftly dropped his jeans and boxers. Now it was Claire's turn to ogle the well built government agent. His body was all hard planes and ridges thanks to the strenuous government training, there wasn't an ounce of fat on him; he was all muscle. Her eyes found various scars here and there; some were raised while others a faint silver, but the one she pinpointed most was on his left shoulder. She didn't know where he got most of his injuries, but she knew exactly where the jagged starburst blemish came from. Her impromptu surgery left a deep mar upon his skin and she will always be remorseful that they couldn't find a proper place for him to receive medical treatment; however, what she didn't know was that Leon wore that scar around like a medal of honor. It was proof that Raccoon City wasn't a dream, that his fear-addled mind hadn't conjured her up to place sanity where there was none. It was his to carry around forever and he wouldn't have it any other way.

In a blink, Leon settled himself on his knees between her open thighs again giving her slit one slow appreciative lick. He gave her clit a couple of rapid flicks before sucking the little pearl of flesh into his mouth and swirling his tongue around.

"Oh, yesss!" Claire gasped. Her hands threatened to pull strands of his hair out by the roots, but the pain only spurred him on. Without further prompting, Leon lapped at her juices like a man starved for water. His tongue swept from side to side, top to bottom, and occasionally dipping inside to drink right from the source.

She couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene in front of her. Watching Leon devour her womanhood with animalistic fervor sent her heart rate spiking. Claire couldn't stop bucking her hips. The pressure in her lower abdomen was so intense it felt like she would burst at any moment. Feeling that she was right on the cusp of climaxing, Leon pulled away licking his lips to capture any stray droplets. A frustrated groan of disappointment was soon replaced with a gasp of pleasure as Leon buried himself into her wet warmth with one smooth thrust, pulling out half way and pushing back in as deep as he could go. He gripped her hips hard enough that there'd surely be matching bruises on either side of her delicate skin come morning. Claire frantically thrust her pelvis against his trying to match his pace, but couldn't keep up. All she could do was dig her nails into his shoulders and cling on for dear life.

Flashes of lightning provided quick bursts of light to illuminate the room as they did a dance as old as time itself. Words of 'yes', 'more', and 'please' left her lips like a sinful prayer. There were no declarations of feelings between them. All they wanted to do was live in the moment, to drown in each others scent, taste, and touch. The roar of her blood pounding in her ears made it feel like her head was swimming in dizziness. Her quiet mewls of pleasure sent a jolt of satisfaction through Leon driving him to push harder and faster into her. Her fluttering walls around him signaled that she was getting close.

It was too much. Everything about him was too much. From the way he penetrated the very depths of her core, the scent of him surrounding her, the taste of his salty skin as she bit into his neck to muffle her shrieks, to the dark intensity within his blue-gray's looking at her like she was the only one who mattered. Each sensation he invoked in her body rose to a crescendo until those dancing fingers of his traveled between their slapping bodies and lightly pinched her pearl sending her crashing over the edge.

"Leon!" She drew out the last syllable in a breathless whimper and a strangled moan emitted from the back of her throat. Her entire body locked into place as she rode out the last tide of her orgasm. The continuous clenching of her walls squeezed his member in a death grip that he couldn't help but bury his face in the nape of her neck and groaning her name as he thrust one, two, three times and emptying his entire being into her.

After they had gotten their breathing under control, Leon gingerly pulled himself out of her, both moaning at the loss of contact and roved his eyes along her body. She was absolutely beautiful. She had her eyes closed, hidden from view, but her cheeks were covered in a rosy blush. A thin sheen of sweat covered her porcelain white skin nearly making it glow in the dim lighting as love bites of different shapes and sizes mottled various parts of the once pristine skin. Leon snickered under his breath in a self-satisfied way as he watched the sticky stream of their combined juices slowly leak out of her, almost stirring him up for round two, but decided to save it for another time.

"Mmm, what are you laughing about?" Claire cracked open one sky blue then the other to peer up at his grinning face.

"Nothing in particular," he smiled softly, "Just thinking about all the wonderful things I want to do to this sweet body of yours." Claire laughed lightly, swatting at his hands as they made a playful grab for her. After a minute of light grappling, she finally relented and let him wrap his arms around her. Silence reigned between the two as they listened to the lullaby of failing raindrops. Leon gently tugged the band out of her hair and ran his fingers through the loose silky locks, petting her like one would with a cat.

Eventually his movements stopped altogether as he drifted off into sleep, but Claire wasn't so fortunate. While his gentle petting was relaxing it wasn't enough to send her into slumber. The night's events had happened too fast for her to process and now hours later after everything's been said and done, she was still left in a mild state of confusion. Even though Leon all but confessed his feelings to her, she couldn't stop the series of doubts floating around her mind. What if this was a mistake? What if he woke up regretting their night together; that they were acting on impulse and nothing else? She could easily blame the wine and scotch for their actions, but being dreadfully honest with herself it was a weak excuse since she had been far from drunk. Besides she had wanted this to happen, had always wanted him since their first time together. And what would that say of Leon? She knew him better than most and to say that he slept with her just because he was intoxicated was a great disservice to his integrity. Whatever he said, he meant it.

With no answers coming to mind the only thing she could do was wait for the man beside her to wake up. It became harder and harder to keep her eyes open with each blink the longer she trained her gaze on the hypnotizing circling of the ceiling fan as they gradually slid shut to the world.


End file.
